Tourists who chuck their soda cans, waggle toes in the City’s canals and abandon t-shirts for the bare-chested look (we’re talking men here) may be intercepted and fined by Venice’s newly created Office of Decorum. But perhaps just as humorous is the way the government’s Decorum office has decided to go about breaking the bad news. Instead of tasking regular police with the job, the City has hired legions of multi-lingual female “hostesses” to patrol St. Mark’s Square and dole out penalties ranging from 50 to 500 euro. I guess it’s just easier to take a reprimand from a pretty young woman, and the government knows it. Interestingly, slovenly Americans are not the chief targets, but rather European day-tripper tourists who often bring their own food and picnic outside.

Venice Slaps Fines on Sloppy, Shirtless Tourists

I don’t know if you can tell, but that’s one helluva a tub. And it’s all mine. But I deserve it, considering that I’m in Detroit and it’s pushing 90 and spitting rain. But this post isn’t about me. It’s about the Atheneum Suite Hotel Conference Center Detroit.

I’ll post all of this in a hotel review and upload more pics later, but for now, a few things that have impressed me about this hotel:

- We arrived at - get this - 6:17 am and asked for early check-in. Not only did the hotel accommodate us, but they also upgraded us to a massive suite because the regular non-smoking king rooms were sold out.

- After we arrived in our room, the awesome woman at the front desk called to tell us that she’d marked us down as allergic to smoke (cough, cough) so we’d have the room all weekend, even if a non-smoking king room opened up and someone tried to move us.

- I could go swimming in the tub. Literally. It is at least three feet deep. Someone could have a seriously pimped out party in here.

That said, the hotel interiors are not on par with what you’d find at comparable lodging options in other major cities. The TVs are - gasp - square boxes instead of flat screens. The decor is sort of late 1980’s and bland save for guilded picture frames and track lighting. The do have Gilchrist & Soames bath amenities. Mmm. Can’t wait to try the toothpaste. Actually, they didn’t give us toothpaste. Go figure.

According to the Telegraph (UK), the Ritz-Carlton Central Park, the Four Seasons New York and Hotel Gansevoort are New York’s best business hotels. One of the draws at the Four Seasons? The swanky hotel bar pictured here - taken by TravelPoster jill03.

New York’s Best Business Hotels

Interesting bedding at the Hilton San Diego Resort. Kinda like a party. Not very Monday-ish. But then, maybe it will get your mind off today and thinking about the weekend ahead.

At the Marriott Niagara Falls Fallsview and Spa Hotel, they really aren’t joking about the views. One pleasantly surprised TravelPoster recently uploaded this pic after a visit to this hotel.

If you were to visit the Marriott Niagara Falls Fallsview, you’d find a 432-guestrooms, the Serenity Spa by the Falls, a skywalk to the nearby Fallsview Casino, the Fallsview Theatre inside the hotel and the Terrapin Grille restaurant.

Who doesn’t love a little alligator surprise during a round of golf? A TravelPoster who recently visited The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island snapped this shot. Prefer the sand and sea to the putting green? The beach pictured below flanks the property.

Career sales associates may have reason to fear for their jobs. While traveling through the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport this weekend, I noticed several of these vending machine shops - this one sells all manner of iPod accessories - from standard headphones to girlie carrying cases. Another machine I saw was stocked with ProActive skincare products. Both machines were definitely getting a lot of attention. This sort of thing could really come in handy if you get to the airport only to discover you’ve forgotten your headphones. But what about returns or exchanges? And how can you view detailed product specs when your potential purchases are lined up like bags of chips? Still, it made me want to buy something just to get to play with the machine.

If there are two things one can say about carbon offsetting programs, it’s that they are attracting lots of attention and sparking debate among environmental experts, frequent travelers and earth-conscious consumers.

I’m all for the idea behind carbon offsets, but I’m waiting for more transparency and proof that the environmental projects supported by the funds from offsets are working before spending a lot on them. In the meantime, I’m trying to stay conscious of the other things travelers can do to reduce damage to the earth while traveling it.

Here are five easy, cost-effective ways any traveler can reduce his or her carbon footprint:

Five Ways Travelers Can Reduce Carbon Footprints Without Spending a Dime

It seems humans aren’t the only guests at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. On a recent visit, one TravelPoster caught these little guests trying to capitalize on the property’s luxurious surroundings. Human guests might head for the putting green or two swimming pools, but these fellas clearly have simpler tastes. Just some fresh grass and a little shade is all it takes to win them over.

You might think a duck would be the perfect mascot for Chicago’s Drake Hotel, but the hotel prefers to associate itself with a much more dramatic beast: a dragon. Here’s one TravelPoster’s photograph of the famous hotel’s fire-breathing mascot.